Gonzaga Notebook: Bulldogs Won't Take Things Slow Against Heels

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have no problem saying that North Carolina's fast break is the best they've ever seen.

The Bulldogs also have no problem saying they've got a heck of a fast break themselves and have no intention of trying to slow the tempo Friday night when 10th-ranked Gonzaga and second-ranked North Carolina square off in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament.

"I'm a very big believer in transition basketball, especially with this team," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said Monday. "That's when we're at our best."

"They've got probably the best fast break in the country," Gonzaga guard Matt Bouldin said, "but that plays into our hands, because we like to run, too."

The Tar Heels rank second in the nation in points per game at 90.3. Gonzaga is 12th at 78.9, but the Bulldogs have not scored more than 95 points in one game, and UNC has topped 100 nine times.

"Their point guard (Ty Lawson) is incredible at pushing the ball, and their wings run hard," Gonzaga guard Micah Downs said.

Sheer Madness

In North Carolina, Tar Heels basketball is not a sport so much as it is a religious experience.

Newspapers, magazines, internet sites, television shows, radio shows Tar Heels basketball is a 24/7 news event this time of year in tobacco country.

The Dean E. Smith Center — named for the legendary former coach of the Tar Heels, and affectionately nicknamed the "Dean Dome" — is routinely filled to capacity (21,750). The few vacant seats are usually limited to the 6,000-seat student section when school is out during holiday breaks.

Gonzaga's arena seats 6,000 total. North Carolina has twice that many season ticket holders.

Want to buy a season ticket at North Carolina? Just fork over $500,000, and that earns you the RIGHT to buy four season tickets. Of course, the tickets themselves cost another $2,000 every year.

"If we win another national championship," a UNC official said, "the price probably will go up."

Neutral Court

Thousands of Carolina fans will turn out for Friday's game in Memphis, Tenn., which is located about 600 miles west of UNC's campus in Chapel Hill.

Gonzaga's trip is a shade bit longer — about 2,700 miles.

Both teams played on quasi "home courts" during the first two rounds of the tournament. North Carolina drove an hour from Chapel Hill to Greensboro, N.C., and Gonzaga flew an hour to Portland.

The Bulldogs are just thankful their Sweet 16 game with the Tar Heels is not being played in North Carolina. That was the situation Washington State walked into last year in Charlotte, and the crowd was awash in Tar Heels blue during North Carolina's 68-47 romp.